Colors
by Bad Habits
Summary: A different look at the story of Naruto. The second chapter is up and we get a bit more of the picture and see Kakashi and Naruto in action during the bell test.
1. Chapter 1

_**Colors  
**_by Canis Black

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Hatake Kakashi was a ninja of great skill – perhaps the most skilled in the entire village with the obvious and notable exception of the revered Third Fire Shadow – and, as befits a ninja of his caliber he had to make a conscious effort to make noise as he trekked through an isolated section of forest within the boundaries of Leaf Village's walls. Not too much noise though, barely a whisper of fabric as it brushed across the leaves and the slightest crinkling of grass as he stepped on it, but more than enough to announce his presence well before he arrived at the meeting place.

The deliberately stealth-less approach also served another purpose. By making his own approach so obvious it made it easier for both himself and Lord Sarutobi to identify and divert any followers they might have picked up on their way to this meeting. It didn't seem to be necessary today, but a little caution is a good thing for anyone engaged in politics to exercise, especially those involved in ninja politics.

There was no set meeting place, simply a general area within which they would meet and speak. It made it easier to shake pursuers and ensure privacy. Kakashi also suspected that the city's chief administrator also used it is an excuse to get out from behind his desk and stretch his legs. So, when Lord Sarutobi appeared beside him without any kind of forewarning he was somewhat expecting it and only startled enough to activate the Sharingan in his left eye. Outright attacking the strongest ninja in the village because he was startled by the man's appearance was one of the single most embarrassing thing's he'd ever done; made even more so because he'd never even touched the man with an impressive array of techniques that would have leveled a small army.

"You called a meeting," Kakashi stated blandly once he'd ascertained that it was in fact his superior that he was now walking with.

The old man, still stronger than any four members of the village put together despite being at least two decades past his prime – no one really knew how old he was because Sarutobi Sasuke had doctored his own records to show no less than twelve different dates of birth scattered across a decade and a half – nodded his head in acknowledgment of Kakashi's unspoken question yet made no move to answer it. Instead he pulled out a pipe and a bag of tobacco. With practiced motions he stuffed filled the pipe and put away the bag, smoothly replacing it with a match and lit the pipe without breaking stride.

For several minutes they walked in silence, Kakashi resisting the urge to pull out his book and the Third puffing away on his pipe while gathering his thoughts. When he finally spoke his words were filled with the weight of office and told Kakashi that the old man didn't care for what he had to say much more than Kakashi did when he heard it.

"I'm assigning Uchiha Sasuke to your team. I'm well aware that you almost withdrew your name from consideration for this particular class, however next to Maito Gai you're the best suited to help him learn what he needs to beat his own blood-gift."

Sarutobi didn't have to state the obvious, Kakashi knew as well as anybody that Uchiha Sasuke was gunning for his older brother because of the role the man played slaughter of their family. Kakashi was also aware of the threat Itachi posed to the continued safety and existence of Leaf Village and the belief that only Sasuke possessed the potential to end that threat. Kakashi did not agree with that belief, but he was among the minority and so Sasuke's self-destructive obsession with ending his brother's life was encouraged rather than discouraged.

"Why? There are others that are better suited to teach him what he needs to know to accomplish his goals. The Sharingan I possess isn't even _real_."

That too was the truth. When he'd received left eye of his dying friend all those years ago during the Third Great Shiobi War his friend hadn't even activated his bloodline yet and by all accounts Kakashi shouldn't have been able to either. Yet he had. Due to his clan's own pseudo-bloodline the Sharingan possessed by Kakashi had different properties than the Uchiha clan's blood-gift.

"I am aware of that," Sarutobi replied, "However, you are among the minority that does not believe that another Sharingan user is needed to kill Itachi." The old man paused and gave Kakashi an amused smirk, "You're also the third strongest ninja loyal to the village and the only one in a position to teach. Sasuke can learn much from you. I also believe that you might be able to undo some of the damage done to him by the headless chickens that run the council."

Kakashi couldn't help but snort at that. It was quite true that Leaf Village's Council of Elders was often ruled by fear. More soberingly though was the thought that the majority of the time it was ruled by greedy, power-hungry men and women more interested in advancing the status of their own clans than with the well being of the city and it's primary workforce, the ninja.

"Who else is being assigned to me, and do I retain the option to fail them if they do not pass my evaluation?" The question was asked in a flat bored tone, very similar to that of the conversation's opening statement, yet there was an underlying of current present that was blatantly obvious to a trained observer and Kakashi silently cursed himself for his slip.

"Ah, yes." Sarutobi smiled at Kakashi as he responded to the other man's question. "The other two members of the team are to be Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto. I've also made it clear to the council that while I'm bending to their will by assigning Sasuke to your team that I will not order you to pass the team. The fate of their evaluation remains in your hands."

Upon hearing that the one he had intended to teach all along was to be assigned to his team was at once surprised and irritated. Surprised because he had been under the impression that Naruto had once again failed to graduate and irritated because he knew he'd end up making the evaluation easier to improve the chances that the team would pass.

"Naruto? I thought he failed again."

"He did."

Kakashi once again cursed the old man's sense of humor. He took entirely too much amusement in making his subordinates jump through hoops.

"If he failed then how is it that he's been assigned to my team?"

"He received a field promotion," Sarutobi paused for a moment, as if considering making Kakashi drag the information out of him bit by bit, then continued his explanation with a somewhat more subdued expression. "After he failed the exam Naruto was approached by one of his instructors and told of an alternate method of passing."

"Wha?" Kakashi started to ask but was interrupted by the Third's upraised hand.

"There actually is a little known alternate method of passing the exam, one I had intended to inform Naruto of myself if he failed this year, but the teacher in question did not inform Naruto of that method. The instructor, Kano Mizuki, was interested in obtaining a scroll of forbidden techniques and used Naruto to do his dirty work. I'll allow you to read the full report later if you so wish, but the important part is that after being informed of his burden Naruto utilized one of the techniques that he had learned from the scroll in the span of a single hour to defeat Mizuki in direct combat. After his victory Umino Iruka, whose life Naruto saved, gave Naruto the forehead protector from his own head and told Naruto that he had graduated from the academy."

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow. "He can't actually do that can he?"

Sarutobi chuckled in turn and answered once his mirth had died down to manageable levels. "Yes and no. Iruka was unable to give Naruto a passing grade as such, but since Naruto placed his life on the line to defend a citizen of Leaf Village from a superior foe he demonstrated that he does indeed have what it takes to be a ninja and Iruka act accordingly. So worry not Kakashi, Naruto will become a ninja whether you pass this team or not. You will simply have to wait a while longer before you are able to teach him."

Kakashi nodded his acknowledgment of Sarutobi's words and began to mull over what he'd been told. The two continued to walk in silence until Kakashi had completely digested and dissected what he had been told. His final conclusion was that there was more tell for it did not make sense to call him out for a secret meeting when there were no secrets to be shared.

"Why, exactly, did you call me out here? It can't be to tell me this, that could have been accomplished much more easily at your office."

"Yes," Sarutobi's voice was weary as he spoke now and Kakashi knew that it was because he had very, very bad news to deliver. "I called you out here to tell you that, so long as you and your team are within the village walls and within the sight of Leaf-nin you cannot directly help Naruto. The council is still convinced that he is a threat to the safety of the village and do not wish for him to become any stronger than he already is."

Kakashi cursed. The phrases he used to describe the council were vile and cast them and their ancestors in a most unflattering light. When, after fifteen minutes the curses turned to vague, then not so vague threats Sarutobi intervened.

"Peace Kakashi, I am not so old or senile as to let them tie your hands completely. I have arranged for Sasuke to be taken from your hands once he has achieved Chunin and be trained as a hunter. Once that occurs you can help Naruto all you like. Until then you simply have to be discreet and indirect in your instruction. Between scrolls and perhaps a few Chunin-level tutors Naruto should be able to advance just as well as if you yourself taught him."

That brought the man up short. His rage ebbed away to a more manageable level though it did not leave him completely and he thought over the Fire Shadow's words. In truth, he believed that this arrangement, though unorthodox, may end up working to Naruto's favor if he approached it in just the right manner.

"Oh and Kakashi," the Third's voice interrupted his musings, "Naruto has yellow chakra."

That comment signaled the end of the conversation as the Third, or rather his shadow clone, raised its hands to form a seal and disappeared in a burst of hazy smoke. After a few startled seconds at the abruptness of the departure Kakashi's shadow clone did the same.

* * *

Slow and steady was the order of the day for Uzumaki Naruto. Practicing his taijutsu forms in an unused academy training ground he was focusing on his form as he moved through each motion as slowly as he could. It was a form of control training, slowing himself so that a punch that would normally arrive at its target in less time than it took to blink an eye wouldn't arrive for upwards of a minute. Further, it allowed him to carefully analyze each and every motion, to feel each and every muscle as it moved in sequence.

He knew, that few ninja ever took the time to develop their taijutsu skills to this level, but he was different. He'd been accepted into the academy at the age of nine, three full years early because he'd managed to learn, by observation, every single one of the seventeen styles of taijutsu taught at the academy. More than that though, he'd practiced until he was proficient in using each and every style and even begun to lay the ground work for his own, personal style.

It had been his proudest day when he'd crossed the academy threshold as a student for the first time, and he'd busted his butt day in and day out to learn everything there was to learn. He hadn't had the best grades, he just wasn't built to be a scholar, but he'd scored at or just below the seventy-fifth percentile on each test, and his homework assignments had always been completed and handed in on time earning him good grades there as well. His only weakness had been ninjutsu and genjutsu.

As part of their learning all academy students were taught three basic techniques: replacement, transformation, and illusory clone. Each technique corresponded with the three basic branches of ninjitsu – taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu – respectively. Introduced in the first year each student had several years – 4 for normal students, 3 for the fast-tracked – to master the techniques. They were also used as a way to identify which branch the student had the most potential in.

Naruto himself was already listed as a Taijutsu Specialist and should have passed after completing his third year (if you got in early you were obviously good enough for the fast track), and his grades and evaluations were good enough, but the test was changed at the last minute. Instead of being a comprehensive test of the hopeful's skills and abilities they were expected to be able to demonstrate at least a basic mastery over one technique chosen randomly from the three basic techniques. Naruto, who had not an ounce of ability for genjutsu and thus was never able to properly perform the illusory clone technique, ended up with that very technique for his test.

The next year it had been the same technique, and the year after that he'd begun to suspect that the selection was not quite so random when it once again came up as a test of his ability to cast genjutsu. Now, now he _knew_ that he had been set up to fail, and furthermore he knew _why_.

Not wanting to follow that line of thought he stopped his exercise and glanced over to the small pond that was the reason he'd chosen this particular training field. Seeing his shadow clone standing there coaxing the water up into a humanoid shape that only vaguely resembled himself he remembered the conversation he'd had with the Old Man the morning after he and Iruka-sensei had beaten down that damned traitor Mizuki.

* * *

Naruto was sitting in the Fire Shadow's sealed office with his mind racing in furious circles. Shortly after Iruka had given Naruto his forehead protector a member of the ANBU had shown up to take possession of the scroll Naruto had acquired from the restricted section of the Fire Shadow's personal library. As he or she, Naruto couldn't be sure as the high necked robes hid any telltale details such as the presence of an Adams' Apple or a pair of breasts and the mask muffled the voice sufficiently to make it impossible for one of Naruto's skill to determine it's gender, was leaving they were also given a message. Iruka was to escort Naruto the Fire Shadow's office as soon as they'd finished their ramen.

Naruto had only been too happy to go as he had several questions that needed answering. In fact, he'd wanted answers so badly that he only ate one bowl of ramen before rushing Iruka to finish his. When they'd arrived the Old Man had sent Iruka on his way and then sealed the office before getting down to the business of discussing the very large cat that Mizuki had let out of the bag.

And discuss it they had. Naruto had every question he asked, and many he didn't, answered. Still, it would take time and thought before he could fully digest everything he'd learned, but at least his biggest fear had been laid to rest. He was Uzumaki Naruto, a human child with a demon stuck in his navel; not the fox forced into the body of an infant with its memories sealed away. His attention was not to remain focused on that problem, however, since the Old Man seemed to have something to say.

"Naruto, that technique you used against Mizuki, the Shadow Clone Technique, is a very dangerous technique. It was placed in that scroll because it has some very undesirable side effects when used in combat."

The Old Man's face was grave as he said this and Naruto couldn't help a nervous gulp as he was fixed underneath a stern gaze. He rallied quickly enough though and threw his challenge at the strongest man in the village without any fear or hesitation.

"What's that then Old Man? What makes that technique so bad?"

"It gradually decreases the user's fear of death until he or she no longer believes that death is anything more than an inconvenience, a temporary setback, when it is in fact the most permanent of setbacks there is," Naruto found himself transfixed under the man's stern stare and merely nodded to show that he was listening when the Fire Shadow paused. "The reason this happens is because every time a shadow clone is dispelled, no matter the method, everything that shadow clone ever experienced is transferred to the original and any other clones still active."

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto really didn't want to speak up, but something told him that he needed to understand this so he interrupted the Old Man's speech with the question.

The Fire Shadow paused when he heard Naruto's question and held his chin in one hand while stroking his beard with the other as he contemplated how best to answer Naruto's question. "Say that you created a clone and had it prepare your dinner while you took a shower. When the clone was dispelled you would remember making dinner even though you _yourself_ did not. Is that sufficient to answer your question or do you need another example? Take your time, it's not exactly an easy thing to grasp, even for me."

Naruto nodded and thought for a few moments. After a time he believed he had it, but to be sure he posed a question. "So, say I had a clone set up a prank on someone and the clone was seen doing it. I couldn't actually deny performing the prank and get away with it because I would actually remember pulling the prank once the clone dispelled?" The Old Man chuckled softly at the question, but answered in the affirmative. "And if I used it against an opponent to quickly gauge his fighting style without actually getting in the way of harm myself I'd still have the experience of fighting him even if I don't have the evidence on my body?"

The Third nodded. "That's right, and that's also how the nasty side-effects of the technique came to be known. After all, if you remembered dying dozens, or in your case possibly hundreds, of times how afraid of death do you think you'd be?"

Naruto's eyes went wide and shuddered as he suddenly understood what the man in front of him was saying. "That...that does sound bad. Really, really bad, but that's the only good ninjutsu I have."

The Third's eyes met Naruto's for a moment, "You mean you didn't learn any other techniques from the scroll?"

"No, I didn't even look at anything beyond the first one."

The Third let out a sigh and his shoulders slumped in obvious relief. "Thank goodness. The Shadow Clone Technique is probably the safest technique stored in that scroll. I'm going to have to ask you to not use that technique in combat, however using it to aid your training is perfectly acceptable though having it train in any kind of taijutsu would be a waste of time. Only the memories and the experiences of the clone transfer. Physical training does not."

Naruto closed his eyes and thought for a moment, but when he opened his mouth to speak his objections the Third interrupted. "I know that it is your only combat effective ninjutsu, and to that end I am prepared to offer these," the Third reached into his desk and pulled three scrolls out and placed them on top of the desk, "To replace it. They are all three clone techniques, fully broken down into component equations as well as step by step instructions on how to perform them and notes on how to correct any problems you may run into while learning them. You will only get them if you give me your solemn promise that you will do all you can to avoid needing to use the Shadow Clone Technique in battle and only use it in combat situations when it _is_ needed.

* * *

Naruto had agreed of course, and now he had a shadow clone working to master the first, and easiest, of the techniques, the Water Clone Technique. The second easiest was the Earth Clone Technique which made a clone of the user from solid rock, and the final technique actually mixed water into dirt and created a clone made of mud. Not so surprisingly it was known as the Mud Clone Technique.

So far he'd only attempted the Water Clone Technique, and after several hours of practice he believed that his shadow clone had made fairly good progress in managing to get a humanoid shape of water to form. At the beginning his clone was unable to do more than warp the surface of the water upwards. Satisfied with that he turned his attention to his other shadow clone.

This particular clone had the hardest job of all. Sitting underneath a tree with a notebook and several technique scrolls he had been tasked with studying the mechanics of the various clone techniques and comparing them with a few other ninjutsu to try and either improve the techniques he did know, or create a totally new one. If the vile epithets that suddenly began spilling from his mouth were any indication of its progress then things were not going well.

"What's the problem?" His response was a glare that would have made even the class prodigy have second thoughts about approaching, but Naruto ignored it since he was in no danger from the clone. A single, focused thought was all that was needed to dismiss it though using a hand seal was quicker and easier. "Don't look at me like that. I'm simply offering my help."

The clone's glare got frostier, but this time it decided that simply glaring wasn't enough. "And what help could you offer? I'm you in case you've forgotten." Irritation spent the clone looked down at the notebook he'd been scribbling notes in sadly, "Anyway, it's not that anything is actually wrong, I just can't seem to focus on this, my thoughts keep drifting back to-"

"Stop!" Naruto's voice was sharp, harsh as he commanded his clone. The copy had been about to give voice to the very same problem Naruto had been having, and apparently his clones were having the same problems as well. It only made sense though, if Naruto was distracted by what he'd learned from Mizuki just before the man tried to kill him, his clones, completely identical to himself up until the point that they entered the world, would also have the same troubling thoughts.

His clone didn't seem to share his thoughts on avoiding the issue and, after the shock of the interruption had worn off got pissed. "No! I won't stop, you've been avoiding this for a week now, and if you don't stop running away you're going to be distracted and make an ass out of yourself in front of everyone! Again."

Naruto himself was pissed and was itching to bury a kunai in between the uppity clone's eyes, but his promise to Sarutobi was holding him back. Idly, a part of him wondered if maybe he _was_ somewhat crazy since he seemed to dislike the clone enough to actually want to kill what amounted to himself. He pushed that thought away from himself and lifted his hands into a seal and growled out a terse, "Good riddance," as the clone disappeared from existence with a small pop, leaving behind nothing save for a book full of notes and a rapidly diminishing cloud of smoke.

Ignoring the rush of memories he'd obtained from his clone for the moment he turned and looked at the other clone, his attention drawn by a muffled cough. He barely had time to take in the fact that there was another copy of himself – though looking as if it had stepped out of a black and white photograph – before the other clone banished itself from existence. It did not do so without saying its piece though.

"He's right you know."

* * *

Author's Notes:

Here it is boys and girls, the first chapter of what will hopefully be many. I'm sure many of you have questions, but at this point I can't say I'm entirely sure what they'd be. So, if you want answers leave reviews and if I feel like I can answer the question without giving too much away then I will.

That said, I have plans for this story, plans that while borrowing from some of the biggest cliches in the fandom will, I hope, be played out quite differently from anything you've yet seen.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Colors  
**_by Canis Black

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Hatake Kakashi hadn't always made a habit of being late to anything that could not be classified as extremely important to either himself or the Fire Shadow. No, once upon a time he'd been a stickler for rules and punctuality – so much so that Obito had commented on it.

"Hey Kakashi," he'd said, "How do you manage to sit down with that pole rammed up your ass?"

In retrospect his old teammate hadn't deserved the genjutsu that he'd cast on him in reply, but Obito had been the only one that had ever managed to get far enough under Kakashi's skin to make him break ranks as it were. As such, when he'd begun to explore exactly what it meant to be a human being he'd looked to his memories of his old comrade for examples of things he'd only allowed himself to know of in the abstract. When this redevelopment of his person had reached the point where a sense of humor had begun to form he'd taken to emulating some of Obito's less endearing behaviors.

Whereas Obito had experienced a genuine problem with keeping track of time Kakashi had begun to indulge in tardiness on purpose. Throw in the wild, and sometimes completely insane excuses Obito had been famous for and Kakashi had begun to show up later and later to all sorts of engagements and appointments just to see the incredulous expressions that would quickly shift to anger and outrage. The occasional encounter with the gullible idiot who believed his excuses was all the more enjoyable though he never sought those people out, not after Gai had declared Kakashi his eternal rival. Reading porn in public though, that was Kakashi's own genius even if it had no bearing on his current situation.

Still, this was an auspicious occasion. After all, not one single prospective Genin (or any other annoyed ninja for that matter) had managed to even come close to getting back at him for his tardiness and here he was, not even completely into the room and one of them, probably Naruto if the boy's mirth was any indication, had managed to completely soak him with water. Still, appearances must be maintained so he finished entering the classroom and used a judicious application of intent, malicious not killing, to bring all eyes to himself.

Closing his eye and posing with his hand on his chin he took a moment to pontificate, "Based on my first impression I'd have to say...Hmm...How shall I put this?" He opened his eye and surveyed their expectant faces and fought off the urge to chuckle maniacally as he delivered his final words. "...I hate you!"

The flat, bewildered expressions on the faces of Haruno and Uchiha were everything he could have hoped for, but Naruto...perhaps he could have chosen his words better. The boy's reactions matched those of his teammates, but his eyes...They were void, empty of emotion and full of the kind of wary cautiousness he'd not seen since he came across one of the giant dire wolves that inhabited some of the deeper forests surrounding the city.

Naruto obviously didn't trust him an inch. Unsurprising, but still somewhat disappointing. Oh well. He'd deal with that later.

* * *

The morning of Cell 7's final evaluation Hatake Kakashi, the Jounin in charge of that cell woke up at 0530 hours, a half hour after the time he'd given his students to arrive. His normal morning preparations had been honed to perfection and it only took him fifteen minutes to complete them. This put the time at 0545 hours when he sat down and pulled out the complete dossiers on Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto.

The first thing he'd noticed upon picking them up yesterday after their introductions had been that Naruto's file was actually contained within a sealing scroll. That was not unexpected considering the highly classified nature of Naruto's mere existence. Still, it had set him ill at ease. This morning showed that his feelings of unease were not at all unwarranted since three good sized tomes, all labeled Discipline Record of Uzumaki Naruto, appeared in addition to the thick manila envelope he'd been expecting. Frowning he created three shadow clones and directed them to begin skimming through the tomes while he took the envelope and placed it with Haruno's and Uchiha's as he began to read up on his would-be students. Two hours later he leaned back in his chair and began making comparisons between the people described in the reports with the people he'd met the day before.

Haruno Sakura was classified a genjutsu-type based on her high scores on intelligence and chakra control assessment. Coupled with her lackluster physical abilities and slightly below-average chakra reserves a support position did appear to be the best role for her. His brief observation of her personality the previous day he was rather doubtful that she had the proper temperament for a support-type. She seemed too impatient.

Uchiha Sasuke on the other hand was listed a genius and a prodigy in all fields; though for the sake of balance he'd been classified as a ninjutsu-type even if he really was more of a generalist. His file was full of glowing praises from all of his teachers and, while much more pragmatic, recommendations from various highly placed shinobi and clan leaders for advanced training. His psych evaluations and non-existent punitive records painted a very different picture.

Kakashi had been surprised to find that Sasuke had a habit of seeking out and challenging Genin and more recently Chunin to fights in order to, as he had put it, "measure my capacity." These challenges were illegal, what was even more illegal was when Sasuke would attack those who turned down his challenges. Often these people would end up in the hospital recovering from severe wounds or, in a couple of cases, discharged from combat-potential duty and placed in administrative and reserve positions due to the seriousness of the injuries. Despite this, Sasuke had not been subject to punitive measures since the Uchiha Massacre. The boy was going to be trouble, Kakashi just knew it.

Finally, there was Uzumaki Naruto. Taijutsu specialist with a strong background in stealth operations. When he'd read those words Kakashi had thought somebody was playing a prank on him. Still, he continued to read the explanation given and found himself duly impressed. The author of the profile detailed Naruto's many and varied pranks, things that ranged from not-so-simple traps to outright psychological warfare. If even half the things he'd read were true the boy was a shoe-in for ANBU's Intelligence Division once he hit Chunin. That it was a member of that same division writing the report dissolved all of Kakashi's doubts about its veracity.

Delving further into the file Kakashi had found a more detailed breakdown of Naruto's skills which were actually pretty lacking in a lot fields. The boy was absolutely hopeless with genjutsu not even able to perform the most basic of illusory techniques such as the Academy-standard clone, and he struggled with ninjutsu, though once he did finally master a technique he seemed to make optimum use of it even going so far as to perfect his use of the transformation technique to the point where he no longer needed the full set of hand seals and could even perform it, given enough time, without the signature noise and smoke.

His taijutsu, though being above the level of most second year genin, was still raw and unrefined. Umino Iruka had attributed it to a lack of proper teaching and the absence of any after hours sparring partners. Iruka also made note of Naruto's apparent crush on Sakura speculating that it was more likely one of the boy's more malicious pranks or even an attempt to drive away somebody who might actually try and become his friend than genuine attraction and affection.

The most interesting bit of Naruto's file though wasn't his psych profiles, disciplinary records, or even the break down of the boy's skills. No, it was his academic performance. Apparently during his first three years Naruto had maintained, despite teacher bias and reports of lost or stolen materials, a solid place among the top quarter of the class in academics. His place within that quarter fluctuated pretty wildly for those three years, but it never dropped into any of the lower ranges. His first repeat year had seen him slip down into the top of the second quarter of the class, but it was his second repeat year that saw his grades fall to the bottom.

It didn't even take the reports of Naruto's increasing rebelliousness and decreasing respect for figures of authority for Kakashi to figure out why. Naruto had believed that his academic standings didn't matter one whit to his graduating from the academy and had subsequently stopped putting energy and effort into them. Based on Naruto's spike in performance in certain other fields Kakashi was certain that, that had been a _lot_ of time and energy. It was unfortunate, but Kakashi came to the sad conclusion that if Sasuke was going to be trouble to deal with then Naruto was going to be an absolute nightmare.

"Damn," Kakashi sighed as he looked at the piled folders, "What am I going to do with these brats?" A slight smirk, unseen beneath his ever-present mask, crossed his face as he briefly entertained an idea.

"I could just train Sakura and leave Naruto and Sasuke alone. That would solve a lot of my problems."

"Nah. It'd just give you more," one of his clones spoke up as it returned to the room with its portion of Naruto's disciplinary record. "Anyway, the orders specifically state that we _have_ to train the Uchiha kid over the others. Not that you're going to follow them if I know you half as well as I think I do."

Kakashi snorted at that. It seemed that his use of the Shadow Clone technique had warped his sense of humor even more than he had thought if he was making those kinds of jokes.

"So, what did you find out about Naruto's juvenile delinquency?"

"Bad news, though not what you initially feared." The clone's tone was grim and killed any humor left in the room after that last joke.

"What did you find?"

"The kid's been getting punished for the least little things. Most of them nonexistent or blown completely out of proportion. Only three incidents listed in that entire book were truly worthy of any kind of punishment and in those instances instead of community service, the maximum penalty for those infractions I might add, he was thrown in lockup for a week. None of the other penalties were that severe, but they all add up. If those other two books read anything like mine did then you'll have to focus more time on getting him trust you enough _to_ train him." The clone shook its head sadly before finally dispelling itself. An instant after that the other two clones dispelled themselves and Kakashi was forced to used his arm to steady himself as the head-rush caused by the information dump passed.

Taking a quick look at the time on the wall he smiled to himself and pulled a little orange book out of his tool pouch. Thumbing through it quickly he nodded and spoke to himself. "I'll give it three chapters then I'll go and test the brats."

* * *

"_Hmm...looks like I'm going to need to work on their patience,"_ Kakashi thought to himself as he observed his three charges from hiding. Admittedly they'd been told to report at five in the morning and it was now seven till ten, but the visible signs of their frustration were all too evident. Sasuke was brooding, _"sulking,"_ an unkind part of him interjected, while Sakura was alternately ranting aloud, under her breath, and stalking about like a two-legged, pink-haired panther. _"That's an idea, I should see about having Raiha-san let her sign his contract."_ Naruto though was the big surprise.

The blond was leaning against a tree leaking pure, malicious intent. Not killing intent which any ninja worth the name recognized as it was the first warning against an attempt to end his or her life. No, malicious intent was much more subtle and in some circles regarded as being much nastier. As one who had experienced malicious intent when it was realized into action Kakashi knew it to be true. He'd been humiliated once too often to believe otherwise.

Taking a moment to get the flavor of this particular intent he realized that Naruto was too angry to be considering humiliation. That only left one thing based on the intensity of the anger. Maiming. Kakashi smirked. This could work to his advantage, especially if Iruka's reports were accurate. _"Oh yes, I believe that I can use them to impress the sheer hopelessness of the situation on them and then maybe, just maybe, when I give them the _real_ test they'll be able to figure it out and pass. Otherwise..."_

He didn't bother to finish the thought and instead made the short hop from the tree he was watching them from to a point just in front of the three via a very flashy (at least at the destination end) teleportation technique. He noted the slight killing intent being emitted by Sasuke, too weak to have been detected from his previous vantage point and the surprisingly focused nature of Sakura's own killing intent as it was directed at him. What most surprised him was the way Naruto's malicious intent, which had been thick and heavy enough to cause his teammates to unconsciously stay completely out of his way, simply vanished. If Kakashi didn't know better, which he actually didn't he reminded himself, he would have said that Naruto had trained himself to react in certain ways to certain situations.

"Yo."

"You're late!" Sakura and Naruto managed to shout in eerily perfect unison. Kakashi frowned inwardly though. Now that he was looking carefully he could tell that Naruto was just going through the motions. Oh he was angry enough alright, but he wasn't nearly as...out of control as he appeared.

"Ah-heh. Well you see I was kidnapped by a tribe of cannibalistic pygmies who believed I was the second coming of their god and, well, it took me a while to escape once I convinced them they had the wrong guy." Ooh, Kakashi was patting himself on the back for that one, not only was it brand new, it looked like Naruto was amused in spite of himself. The bewildered look on Sakura's face was also priceless and made him wish he'd thought to set up a shadow clone and a camera earlier. Ah well, that's life.

"Well, I hope none of you ate breakfast because the test is going to start now." He pulled out a pair of round bells and tied them to his belt, right beside one of his utility pouches. "The objective of this test is to take one of these two bells from me. You have until noon, when this alarm clock," he pulled a small alarm clock out and walked to the logs at the center of the field and placed on top of the center log, "Is set to go off. Those who get a bell will pass and will be allowed to eat the lunches I brought for them. Those who don't will be tied to one of these logs and will have to watch as I and whoever else received a bell eat. In addition to that, anyone who doesn't get a bell will fail this test and be sent back to the academy."

Kakashi moved as if to start the exercise then paused and placed a hand under his chin in a thoughtful pose. "Oh yes, I almost forgot," he moved his hand and turned serious eyes to the prospective genin. "If you don't want to be completely humiliated, never mind have a chance in hell of passing, you will _need_ to come at me with intent to kill. This test starts, NOW!"

* * *

"...NOW!"

Naruto vaguely registered his teammates blurring forms as they moved _away_ from the combat zone, but could not be bothered to care. He was far more focused on the Jonin standing in the way of his dream, laughing and smiling as he effortlessly halted Naruto's forward progress. In Naruto's eyes he was just like all the nameless faceless villagers and ninja who had spat upon him and his dreams over the years. Only this time there was a distinct difference. This one had been dumb enough to _tell_ him, nay, to _order_ him to attack with deadly force. It was an order Naruto was all too happy to follow.

Just as his teammates had blurred into motion, so too did Naruto. The only difference was that Naruto had launched himself _toward_ the opposition and opened up with a hay-maker that looked as if it would shatter the Jonin if it hit. In this case appearances were deceptive as Naruto hadn't put anywhere near enough power behind the punch to do any damage if it managed to hit. Instead he was focused on what he would do if the Jonin responded with anything _but_ a replacement.

Luck was with Naruto as Kakashi leaned backwards letting the punch breeze harmlessly past his jaw and allowing Naruto to follow through with a spinning side-kick that caught the older man by surprise and knocked his breath out of him. That proved to be the one and only hit of the engagement as Naruto's swift follow up was blocked with ease and the two began trading blows, blocks, and dodges. The impasse continued for at least a minute, maybe more, before the two simultaneously disengaged and used short (for a ninja) hops backwards to gain some ground. That was when Naruto noticed the marker.

"You know, you're a lot better than I thought, but you've still got a lot of room for improvement," the smug tones of Kakashi's voice were the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard to Naruto and he was very tempted to abandon reason and attack again, but he managed to restrain himself. But only just.

Still eyeballing the pen Naruto wondered what Kakashi had been using it to do. When Kakashi noticed where his attention was directed he did this funny little thing with his eyes that put Naruto in the mind of somebody smiling and placed into a belt pouch. Kakashi then inclined his head slightly and Naruto took a chance and glanced at himself as Kakashi seemed to want him to do. What he saw made his eyes bug out and he nearly gave himself whiplash with the speed at which his head jerked upwards so that he could fasten a glare worthy of the Old Man at his most pissed at Kakashi.

"You did _not_ paint all over me you mentally challenged freak-show reject!" Naruto knew he was overreacting, knew that Kakashi most assuredly _had_ used the marker to paint little symbols all over Naruto's skin and clothing. At this point Naruto's anger was bubbling over and it was only the fact that Kakashi had taken an involuntary half-step backwards from the intensity of his glare that kept Naruto from lunging for the other man's throat.

"W-whoa there! It's water soluble ink! It'll wash right off. I swear!" The nervousness in Kakashi's voice was unmistakable and helped calm Naruto's impulse to destroy the man for ruining his clothes, but there was still the little matter of his humiliation.

"And why exactly did you see fit to write on me in the first place," Naruto hissed at the man who'd gone prematurely gray at the youngest age ever recorded (three and one-half years old).

* * *

Kakashi gulped nervously. The resemblance between a pissed-off Naruto and a certain former acquaintance was more than a little eerie, especially considering that Naruto had never met the other man. Fortunately the question was one Kakashi had no problems answering.

"It was to tally how many times I was able to strike at you in those areas before you closed the holes in your defenses. I was holding back of course, but the fact that I never made a second mark anywhere but on your forearms and legs is no small accomplishment."

Kakashi watched in pleasure as surprise and confusion washed across Naruto's face. He waited patiently as the boy worked it over in his head and waited for the inevitable question. He wasn't disappointed.

"Why? I mean this is a test right, to see if we're capable of being Genin. If that's the case then why are you trying to help us?"

Mentally applauding the boy Kakashi leapt right in with his answer. "Well, technically I'm your teacher from the time the team announcements are made right up until I hand in my final decision. I also _want_ you to pass. I want _all_ my students to pass. That doesn't mean I'm just going to _let_ them though. That wouldn't just be irresponsible, it'd be criminal."

The odd, sickly smile that crossed Naruto's face caused Kakashi just a little bit of worry. The boy obviously understood what Kakashi was saying, possibly even believed it. But something about the way the boy was smiling made him think the boy was about to do something that both of them would come to regret later if it worked out the way Naruto had planned it. Naruto's next words clenched the feeling.

"You know, I can see where you're coming from. I really can, but I've got to go forwards. I've spent too long standing still," Kakashi watched warily as Naruto raised his hands and flipped through a short set of hand seals and looked sadly at Kakashi. "Sorry Kakashi-sensei, but you did tell us to come at you with intent to kill."

When Naruto's hands landed on the second to last seal Kakashi realized what he was doing and began to frantically scan the area for the remote detonation explosive seal-tags that he'd obviously planted sometime during their taijutsu battle. By the time Naruto's hands had completed the final seal Kakashi still hadn't found the explosives and he wondered, briefly, if it had been a hoax. It was only when he felt the head blossoming on his legs, arms, back, and chest that he realized that Naruto had planted the tags on Kakashi himself and that there was no way to escape from the blasts. Then his world was lost in heat and light as he was enveloped and consumed by the explosions.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hey, thought I'd try my hand at a cliffhanger. Next chapter'll be a while in coming, but come it will thanks to MandalorianJedi who had the gall to go and add this story to his C2 letting me know that somebody thinks this story is worth a second look, much less a first. Thanks dude!

Anywho, I'd love to see some feedback of some kind for this chapter, even a "I have no opinion as your story's too short to have formed one."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Colors  
**_by Canis Black

* * *

**Chapter 3**

It was, Naruto thought to himself, surprisingly hard for him to follow through with his plan. It had been easy enough to plant the tags on Kakashi's extremities while fighting him, and the activation sequence was absurdly simple. He didn't even need to concentrate on it anymore, not like the Shadow Clone technique. No, the mechanical aspect was absurdly easy. The hard part had to do with Naruto himself.

Some part of himself that had not been lost in the anger and hurt that had consumed his world for the past week was screaming that this was the wrong way to do this. The rest of him believed that this was the only way. He'd never heard of anyone who'd graduated from the academy returning for more training and therefore had to assume they'd either died in their attempts to pass or been kicked out of the program completely. That wasn't something he could allow to happen to himself.

When that line of logic wasn't enough to quell the sick feeling in his gut he told himself that he was only doing what he was told. Kakashi had explicitly stated that they were to come at him with the intent to kill. Doing so obviously carried with it the implied possibility that one of them would succeed in realizing that intent. Still, the words rang hollow.

Kakashi's odd actions that the man attributed to his attempts to be an actual teacher tore Naruto up even more. Something about the man seemed genuine in the way that only Iruka's smiles and the Old Man's frank words of encouragement and admonishment had before. And yet...Naruto still did it. He'd been overwhelmed by the sheer rage, resentment, hurt, and pure-unadulterated fear that had been swimming just under the surface of his thoughts since the moment Mizuki had spilled the beans and Iruka had given his silent confirmation and set off the explosives he'd planted on Kakashi and blew the man up.

Something was different about the explosives though. He'd been experimenting with explosives and seal-tags since he'd first managed to get his hands on information about them in his second year at the academy and had blown up thousands of them. He could dissect an explosion from the edge of his auditory range and tell you exactly what kind of explosive had been used, how far away it was, the size of the detonation, what had been blown up, and a hundred other little facts without even seeing it.

His visual experience with explosions was even more extensive. He knew that from the end of the activation sequence to final burn out should take two point eight-seven seconds, but for some strange reason it was taking longer. Far, far longer.

Something inside him had forced his eyes to remain on Kakashi as he set off the explosives and he'd watched with horrified fascination as the man's eyes darted frantically about himself in search of the explosives. The fascination had faded when the man's eyes had locked with Naruto's own and transmitted Kakashi's sick knowledge of the fact that it was too late to get away. The horror had escalated when the explosives had slowly detonated, the flaming expansion slowly moving to envelop Kakashi as shock washed over the man's face.

Naruto's eyes had remained locked with the doomed man's until the explosion had washed across Kakashi's face and broken the eye contact and suddenly Naruto's world snapped back into focus and he stumbled backwards to fall on his behind in shock. When Kakashi's face had been obscured something inside of Naruto had shattered. He was still angry, still hurt, and still afraid, but he was also guilty and ashamed. He realized that he'd been acting no better than the monster they'd always thought him to be and it made him sick to his stomach.

Then he noticed the explosions burned themselves out and the sick feeling in his stomach took on an entirely new meaning as he watched the smoke clear to reveal Kakashi standing there seemingly none the worse for wear save for singed sleeves on his shirt and legs on his pants. That feeling only intensified as he observed Kakashi's eyes do that creepy smiley thing they'd done earlier and a grin so wide and broad that it stretched, quite literally, from ear to ear and was visible underneath the all concealing face mask.

"Ah," Kakashi's voice was full of something Naruto would have called warmth and affection if he hadn't just tried to kill the man, "You were actually listening to me and struck with intent to kill. I think I'm beginning to like you now."

_"Yep,_" Naruto thought to himself, _"I am sooooo screwed."_

* * *

Sometimes Naruto enjoyed being wrong. It was an extremely rare occurrence (enjoying being wrong, not being wrong itself) and Naruto could count the number of such occurrences on one hand and still have fingers left over, but it did happen. Today being a shining example.

Following Naruto's failed attempt to blow his teacher into itty-bitty pieces he'd been engaged by said teacher in a taijutsu battle that had left Naruto clearly on the defensive and had left no openings for Naruto to make a follow up attempt to at turning his teacher into bloody kibble by slipping explosive seal-tags onto the man. Not that Naruto believed that he would have done so even if there had been opportunity and explosives enough for a repeat performance.

The exchange had ended on an incredibly humiliating note as Kakashi had managed to get behind Naruto and used a peculiar technique that the man had loudly proclaimed to be Hidden Leaf's ultimate hidden taijutsu technique and named it the "Thousand Years of Death," just before shoving his stiffened fingers into a particularly sensitive region of Naruto's posterior causing Naruto to involuntarily launch himself into the air.

When Naruto pulled himself out of the river he'd landed in Kakashi had been nowhere to be seen and the blond had spent the remaining test time searching for his teacher. Needless to say he'd been worried when the man had shown up to retrieve him shortly after the surprisingly loud alarm had gone off. He'd fully expected to be tied to a log, and by that time he'd been so hungry that he'd already had to do a bit foraging during his search to keep his stomach from grumbling and giving away his position. So when Kakashi had sat him down in front of the middle post and walked a few feet away and begun to talk Naruto had been understandably confused.

While keeping an ear out as Kakashi spoke about the monument stone located only a few dozen feet away from the posts, what it meant to be a ninja, and how he believed ninja that abandoned their comrades were worse than trash ninja that failed to complete their missions, he pondered what had occurred. He'd clearly tried to kill Kakashi, yet the man had actually been _happy_ that Naruto had done so. Even the fight following that attempt and it's humiliating end had been devoid of any actual malice on the part of Kakashi. Further Naruto had quite clearly not gotten a bell so why wasn't he tied to a post? Naruto's thoughts chased themselves around in circles as Kakashi spoke until he registered something surprising.

"...so I've decided to give the three of you a second chance," Naruto then noticed that he wasn't the only one present. Sasuke and Sakura were there as well, and now that he noticed that he realized that while he'd been preoccupied with his thoughts the two had been interacting with Kakashi through various questions, shouts, and grunts. His thoughts were jerked back to the present as Kakashi continued though. "Naruto, since you came closest to retrieving a bell I'll allow you to eat lunch. You're not to feed Sasuke or Sakura or all three of you will fail."

Kakashi handed Naruto two box lunches and Naruto assumed they must have been intended for the two who had retrieved a bell. Assuming that anyone had managed to retrieve a bell that is. Naruto took them gratefully even if he still wasn't quite sure of everything that was happening.

"I'll be back in an hour. Use that time wisely and you'll have nothing to worry about. Later," and Kakashi vanished into a cloud of smoke with a small pop leaving Naruto by himself with a pair of incredibly unhappy Genin-hopefuls tied to posts.

Almost on autopilot Naruto took one of the lunches and set it to the side while opening the other and preparing to eat. He had a good sized bite mere inches from his mouth when a thought hit him and he stopped. Putting the bite back into the box he thought about what he'd heard, but not listened to earlier.

Kakashi had spoken about the teamwork. He'd spoken quite passionately about it in fact, going so far as to say in language that could almost be termed plain that the team came _before_ the mission. Following that he'd given instructions that contradicted what he'd said about teams and taking care of each other before leaving the Genin by themselves and telling them to make the best possible use of that time. It didn't make sense unless...Naruto's eyes widened. That was it!

Getting the bells hadn't been the test at all! The test was lunch, and Kakashi had given them the answer as plain as day. "In the world of the ninja those who fail to complete their mission are seen as trash, but to me those who abandon and do not care for their comrades and teammates are lower than trash," he'd said. His seeming turnabout when telling Naruto not to feed his two teammates was a test to see if he was really _listening_ to what Kakashi was saying.

As had been his custom since he was very young, Naruto immediately turned from thought to action and placed his already opened lunch on his lap before focusing on a technique he'd gained increasing proficiency with over the past week and created two Shadow Clones on either side of him. Both clones were identical down to the tiniest detail, including the lunch sitting in his, now their, laps.

The clone on the left tossed the box in his lap carelessly to the side and accepted the still sealed second box from the original Naruto while the right-side clone was emptying his box of every last speck of replicated food. Naruto had no idea if it was edible or what kinds of strange effects it would have on someone's digestive system should it be eaten and didn't believe that now was the time to find out. When his clone was satisfied that there was no more replicated food he joined the original and the other clone and they divided the two boxes into three roughly equal portions. Naruto just _might_ have kept a tiny bit extra for himself.

Throughout all of this he'd been aware of his teammates staring at him. He didn't know what they were thinking while watching him, and quite frankly he didn't want to know. Even if he hadn't been conscious of the thoughts running about their heads, he should not have been surprised when they refused his aid when the clones split up and attempted to feed them.

"What the hell are you doing Naruto! Didn't you hear Kakashi? If you feed us we'll fail!" Sakura's shouted admonition came moments after she turned her head from the offered food.

"I'm passing this test is what I'm doing," he snapped back in irritation at Sakura's inability to see what was, to Naruto's eyes, blindingly obvious. It never occurred to Naruto that his thought processes might be considered unconventional by most.

"How exactly does doing the exact opposite of what Hatake told us to do qualify as passing the test moron?"

Sasuke. The cold condescending attitude and arrogant superiority dripping from the boy's words even while tied to a log pissed Naruto off and stirred up feelings of resentment that should have been long buried. Naruto was well aware of the special treatment the boy got because of his family name and was, for a moment, tempted to withdraw his help. Fortunately for them all he used his better judgment and explained.

"Were neither of you actually _listening_ to Kakashi? Didn't you hear what he said about those that don't take care of their teammates? The bells weren't the test at all. _This_ is. We're supposed to break the rules to take care of our teammates. That's how we pass his test." Sasuke glared and turned his head, obviously rejecting Naruto's aid, but Sakura seemed to be thinking it over leaving Naruto some hope that she would accept his help even though she normally took her lead from Sasuke.

"That...makes sense. More than it should," Naruto grimaced internally and swore to be twice as annoying about asking Sakura out on "dates" for the foreseeable future. "Alright Naruto, I'll accept the food, but if you're wrong about this I'll beat you down so badly you'll wish you're great-grandparents had never laid eyes on one another."

Used to the Sakura's rather uncreative, but surprisingly descriptive threats after a year of classes together he was able to cover the reflexive nervous swallow to the point that she didn't notice it and directed his clone to begin feeding her. He also ate sat down to eat his own, but not before gesturing to the remaining clone to continue to offer the food to Sasuke. To his pleasure and surprise, Sasuke finally broke down and accepted the food with a put upon grunt at roughly the same time that Naruto finished his. Incidentally Sakura was once about three quarter finished with hers and protesting half-heartedly that any more would ruin her diet. Naturally that was when Kakashi appeared.

* * *

Naruto's performance in the test had been surprising and enlightening for Kakashi. The boy's initial assault and it's actual goal had proven that the boy had what it took to be a good ninja, but it was his reaction to the subtle genjutsu Kakashi had cast on him the moment he'd realized that Naruto had been planning to blow him up that left him with the most hope. Even with all the formerly buried emotions running rampant, Naruto was, at his core, still a good kid.

The following taijutsu assault told Kakashi even more. The kid was damned good for his age, and with a bit of spit and polish he'd be a match for any Chunin and most Jonin in a straight up taijutsu battle. With hard work he'd probably be on Gai's level in a couple of years and push beyond even that man's daunting level within the decade. It was a truly frightening thought. For Naruto's enemies that is.

Sasuke had been somewhat less of a surprise following Naruto's fight, though Kakashi had still had to keep a closer eye than he'd have liked on the boy. The biggest, and only, surprise in his evaluation of Sasuke's skills was when the boy had used the Dragon's Fire Breath on him. Kakashi had been half expecting the Grand Fireball which his old teammate had mentioned was considered to be a rite of passage within the Uchiha clan since the clan's inception.

The high level fire technique hadn't been enough of a surprise to get past Kakashi's guard, and the boy's sense of superiority was something that rubbed Kakashi the wrong way. He'd taken entirely too much pleasure in leaving the sole surviving member of the Uchiha clan buried up to his neck in solid rock.

Sakura on the other hand had been much less than expected. Since her report had tagged her as a potential support type with a slight talent for genjutsu he'd decided to start her off with a simple test of her genjutsu detection ability. She'd failed completely as the absurdly simple and easily detected and broken sleep spell had taken her completely. She hadn't woken up until he was halfway finished tying Sasuke to his post – a full ten minutes after he'd tied Sakura herself up.

His decision to tie Sakura and Sasuke to the posts and leave only Naruto to figure out the riddle of the true test had been made sometime between his defeat of Sasuke and his location of Sakura when he realized that of them all, Naruto needed that lesson the most. His original intent to tie up _only_ Naruto might have worked had it not been Naruto who had the biggest trust issues.

Naruto had trusted very few people in his life, and had been betrayed on more than one occasion. In a sense it would seem that even Iruka and Sarutobi – the two people who were the closest Naruto had to family – had betrayed his trust on more than one occasion. To Naruto trust was not something that would come easy and unless based on Kakashi's observations the boy wouldn't extend it to his teammates unless he believed it to be necessary. So Kakashi took a gamble and placed the fate of Team 7 in the hands of the last person anyone would expect to puzzle out the truth of Kakashi's final exam.

It was, therefore, with great pride that Kakashi watched as Naruto thought things through before eating his food. Even more gratifying was seeing the boy move smoothly from thought to action as he created Shadow Clones (something he'd have to talk to Sarutobi about) and split the food between them. Oddly enough his thoughts as he watched the clones dispose of the replicated food mirrored Naruto's though instead of discarding the thoughts he added that to the list of things to talk to the Fire Shadow about when he made his verbal report later this afternoon.

When Sakura and Sasuke initially refused the food he was glad he'd had the foresight to plant a small microphone and transmitter at the base of the middle post yesterday evening as he was too far away to pick up what they were saying with his ears and his binoculars weren't powerful enough to allow him to lip-read from his current distance. Sakura's attitude would need some adjustment, she seemed to be too quick to berate Naruto and her threats of violence while somewhat amusing on the surface would end up being counterproductive in the long run. Still, she at least listened which was a point in her favor. The diet of course would have to go, though it did provide a probable cause for why she'd fallen to the sleep spell so easily.

He continued watching, hoping and praying that Sasuke would finally cave and accept the food Naruto was offering. Kakashi didn't want to have to actually give them a second go at the bells because he'd not given any thought as to how he'd manage to let them get the bells without making it obvious that he'd allowed them to obtain them. That would cause them to ask questions he wasn't allowed to answer.

With a sense of relief he could only compare to the time his old teacher had arrived just in time to save himself and Rin just after Obito's death he watched Sasuke finally allow Naruto to feed him. Taking that as his cue he teleported to their location once more and silently cast a genjutsu on them, shaping it so that they perceived a giant rumbling thunderhead to have suddenly formed above them as he glowered down at them from his perch on the middle post. Their expressions were priceless though there was a glint in Naruto's eyes that he wasn't quite certain he liked.

"Naruto," Kakashi spoke ominously, "What did I tell you about feeding Sasuke and Sakura."

"You told me to feed them," Naruto's glib reply coupled with the shit eating grin that was now splitting his face open was starting to creep Kakashi out, and based on their reactions Sasuke and Sakura were a little unnerved by it too.

"How, exactly, did you come to that conclusion?" Kakashi's voice was so scathing that Sakura could not stop herself from flinching even though the question was quite obviously direct at Naruto.

"You already know my reasoning Kakashi-sensei," and now Naruto revealed the reason for his absurdly upbeat mood by lifting his left hand and revealing the microphone that had been planted at the bottom of the center post. Kakashi was _really_ starting to like this kid.

Releasing the genjutsu he smiled to himself at their startled blinks as the sun reappeared as swiftly as it had, to their eyes, disappeared. "I suppose I do. Congratulations are now in order I suppose. The three of you are now Team 7. Meet back here tomorrow morning at ten," seeing the dubious look on Sakura's face and the flicker of glee in Naruto's eyes even as he adopted the same dubious look as Sakura he decided to clarify. "I will be here _on time_ tomorrow morning. I'll not say anything about other mornings, but if you aren't here on time tomorrow you'll miss the instructions for your training. Dismissed."

"Kakashi-sensei, should I release Sasuke and Sakura?" Naruto's question caught Kakashi off guard, but he quickly recovered.

"That's alright Naruto I'll take care of them. Why don't you head over to the Academy and get Iruka to take you out for ramen in celebration," Kakashi grinned at Naruto with his eyes and took a silent delight in the boy's poorly concealed shudder. It was one of the most amusing reactions he'd ever had and got the feeling that he wouldn't get tired of it either. Maybe that was why Tenzou kept using those Ghoul Eyes of his (and just the memory of that had a silent shiver running down Kakashi's spine).

"Ramen! Yeah, see you tomorrow Kakashi-sensei," Naruto's voice was loud and full of cheer. A sharp contrast to the quiet words that followed. "I'm...um...sorry about...you know."

"Hmm...?" Kakashi feigned ignorance for a moment, "Oh that, that's fine I did tell you to after all. Just because you came closer than either of your teammates is no reason to apologize. Just remember it was for this exercise only and we'll call it even. Deal?"

"Deal!" Idly, Kakashi wondered if it might be possible to tap that smile for electricity. The wattage alone would be enough to cover his bills for months. The impressive speed with which Naruto departed while chanting "ramen, ramen, ramen," under his breath was barely even noticed. Kakashi had personally seen the boy ghost through a crowded boulevard at twice the speed in order to evade pursuit after a particularly nasty prank had been pulled on a merchant that had later been found to be participating in the slave trade. Oddly enough that evidence had been uncovered during the prank's clean-up.

Putting those thoughts out of his mind as he turned to Sasuke and Sakura after making sure Naruto was well out of sight he paced over and cut Sakura from her bindings and directed her to sit at the base of the poll. He then turned and began to pace while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. After several minutes of thought he turned to Sakura and began.

"Sakura, I heard you mention a diet to Naruto earlier. Care to tell us what exactly this diet consists of?"

"I eat two meals a day, midday and evening. The food is light on calories, fats, and carbs so I don't put on weight." was her prompt response.

"That's it? There's nothing else, no exercise, no vitamin supplements or energy drinks in place of breakfast?" Kakashi prompted.

She shook her head, "No, just the food. Why?"

Kakashi sighed dramatically and hung his head before placing a level gaze on Sakura. "Oh, just wanted to know what I was working with. I had hoped, though not expected, a nice sensible diet tailored to an active kunoichi's lifestyle but instead I find that not only is the civilian idea of pretty once more the "so thin you could pass as an Earth Country famine refugee" look, but that the so-called most intelligent member of the graduating class is intent on conforming to that look in hopes of getting into the pants of the single most asexual member of the male species to graduate from the Academy since myself?"

On reflection it might not have been the best way to phrase it, and he certainly hadn't _intended_ to let that bit about himself slip, but he could be forgiven. He was having flashbacks to his own initiation to team Arashi with the stuck-up aloof genius, the not-so pretty but still attractive girl who had no idea just what she'd actually signed up for, and the emotionally damaged outcast (for that's what Obito had been – the bastard son of a high ranking member of the clan and a whore he'd been the shame of the Uchiha and only been taken in because he had the potential to awaken the Sharingan, something he'd never done). Kakashi didn't think his psyche could handle a repeat of that team's fate and so he was taking corrective measures _now_.

The many faces Sakura cycled through – outrage, disbelief, outrage, contemplation, outrage, disbelief, outrage, acceptance, outrage, and finally even more outrage – were humorous enough to derail his morbid train of thought before it had gotten too far from the station. Her spluttered denial of "Sasuke is NOT asexual," followed swiftly by, "What is asexual again?" was absolutely priceless. Not to mention hilarious. What made it even funnier was the fact that Sasuke was gaping like a stunned fish.

"Sakura, asexual means that Sasuke has no interest in anything sexual at all. He's not interested in girls _or_ boys. It's far preferable to his brother's own sexual preferences," now why had he brought up that horrific topic? The feel of Sasuke's eyes burning holes in his back reminded him of the reason. He was looking for something to shut the boy up and put him off balance. Hopefully this would do the trick. Otherwise it would get nasty.

"No Sasuke, we are not discussing Itachi's fish fetish _now_ or _ever_," yep, that did the trick. He then turned back to Sakura who was looking vaguely disgusted and began to discuss a _proper_ diet that would help her built strength, endurance, and chakra capacity while allowing her to maintain and even improve her figure so that she could be a more effective member of the team. Sasuke would, despite the wishes of certain parties, have to wait.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Damn, that was a fast chapter. Don't count on Chapter Four making it out in anything close to this amount of time. I'll also say that other than the last scene Chapter Two had been sitting on my hard drive in a mostly completed state for several months and finishing that chapter took about a week.

I've had no questions, so therefore there are no answers to give. Hopefully people will start asking things soon, but then again I'm still in the first arc (check out my website sometime today. Hopefully I'll be able to find the password and update it before the day's over).

Haven't got anybody to embarrass here either. Oh well. Next up's the first day of training and hopefully I'll have figured out just _how_ I'm going to deal with this Sasuke. One thing's for sure Kakashi's going to be keeping the guy out of trouble even if it kills him (Sasuke that is) while turning Sakura into a decent ninja and polishing Naruto's rough edges.

Oh, that reminds me. While it would _seem_ that I've set up Naruto to be stronger than Sasuke, at this point they're roughly even. It's just that Naruto fights dirtier than Sasuke can even conceive of. In an actual all-out fight, Sasuke would actually hold the advantage since Naruto doesn't have any kind of offensive ninjutsu techniques and his ability to use throwing weapons is limited to distractionary tactics since he has no accuracy of which we may speak nicely (in other word's he could clip the broad side of barn with a single weapon, but would require a full barrage to actually score a hit).


End file.
